Daily Buzz: Phone credit for sex checks

Young people in Queensland’s mining town Mt Isa will be offered $20 mobile phone credit vouchers if they go and get STI checks. The Queensland Government is offering the deal after a nine-fold increase in syphilis cases since January 2011.

Chief health officer Jeannette Young said syphilis was a serious and potentially fatal illness.

“Syphilis is spread through unsafe sex. Pregnant mothers can also pass the disease onto their babies either in the womb or during delivery,” Dr Young said.

“There’s absolutely no shame in getting treatment if you suspect you have an STI (sexually transmitted illness) like syphilis.